World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 310 The Man Who Was Waiting in the Dark
Before the Prophet and the Chieftain went to war, Lin An received a message from Mezo.

"Lin, it seems I've... become a mystery person."

"What's wrong? Can you sense anything unusual?"

Lin An was caught in a rush when the prophet collected the time fragments, and didn't have time to use the [Edit] function. He couldn't confirm Mezo's prototype, and only knew that according to the tree diagram, she tended to be a "prophet" medium.

Lin An has always been quite resistant to the concept of a "prophet," even though the Duke has said that he is not a pure "seeker of knowledge." Lin An's way of thinking still leans towards this medium.

Keeping the prophet by his side was a major challenge for his mental and psychological well-being.

Seeing that Mezo had no interest in "Comers", Lin An didn't urge her to study the contents of the World Tree system or research the ritual that would awaken her.

It seems her recent experiences have helped her grow, and she has become a mystery figure without any help.

Based on her talent, she's guaranteed to be at least legendary level.

Mezo briefly recounted the scene of Misuru's attack, which made Lin An frown. He quickly sent him a message and only felt relieved after receiving a reply.

For high-level mystics, death is not so simple as long as the soul remains intact.

“I probably got the [Enkitas] mask while attracting 'Comers,' which allows me to conjure up all sorts of strange masks,” Mezo replied. “They have a 'blend' effect.”

"Integrate?"

“No one notices me anymore,” Mezzo said. “Even the Mystic can be fooled by my mask.”

Is this a deceptive tactic, a disguised form of invisibility? Lin An pondered.

“Not only that…” Mezo hesitated, “Lin, when you put on the mask, I could vaguely see you—either the shapeshifter or you yourself.”

"what?"

"It was very blurry, through a layer of very dirty glass... but I could see you." Mezo paused. "Lin, are you alright? How did you fall?"

Just then, the chief rushed into the circle and the prophet hid Lin An.

She really can see...

Lin An immersed his consciousness into [God's One Eye], watching the battle while searching for a point of view, but unfortunately he could not capture Mezo in the opposite direction.

"By the way, since you can see me, are you somewhere very close to the shapeshifter wizard?"

"In the corridor of the fifth-floor office of the grand hotel, blood was seeping from under the door. I didn't dare to go in."

Is the prophet only a wall away?
Being so close to the source level and still not being detected by the enemy, Mezo's ability to conceal and mislead is quite impressive.

"Don't come in, Mezzo. Be careful."

Unlike the "Emperor of War" Misuru, the prophet's direct combat capabilities are worrisome. Lin Ansheng fears that once Mezo dies, he will truly be dead.

"Lin, I always feel like there's a tightly closed door between us, but if we just try, we can push it open."

Mezzo's words depict a dreamy girl who innocently reaches out to touch the hazy, dreamlike intersection of energy, as caressing the morning dew without any guile.

"Let me get back before we make any plans," Lin An quickly stopped him. "You took Misuru's 'mask'?"

"Yes! You needed it, so I brought it over immediately! Lin, how do I use this?"

"A mysterious person will come and knock on the office door in a little while."

“Not ‘a while,’ it’s right now! He really is the Mystic, a former member of the Four Living Gods!” Mezo couldn’t hide his excitement. “Lin, how did you know? Can you see me too?”

"It's a long story. Did that person not notice you?"

He walked past me.

"You put the mask on his face...can you do it?"

Lin An's prediction is reasonable and well-founded.

He initially thought that it was caught off guard by Tshisekedi's assassination attempt and was in a passive state, which presented an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

As the prophet said, the death of the "God of Truth" will cause the fragments of time to solidify, but as long as the prophet dies, given Lin An's strength, he can certainly think of other ways to leave.

These words were more like a veiled provocation, arousing Lin An's murderous intent.

This is strange.

In the rainforest, the prophet observed Lin An for more than a month through Zai, and he knew Lin An's character.

Anyone who interferes with his actions will not be spared, regardless of whether they beg for mercy, make deals, coerce, bribe, use moral blackmail, or even consider the bigger picture. Therefore, the prophet had no need to speak with Tshisekedi before his attack.

Instead, it exposed its own passivity.

A few months ago, Lin An could only deduce some clues from past events, but after reading through the knowledge of the two Creator God's fingers, he had a pretty good grasp of the Four Living Gods' ideas.

Chief Zisekdi concealed his female form's aura, intending to one day ambush the Prophet, first killing the living human body it inhabited, and then forcing it to drag him into the Circle Crossroads to fight.

Defeating her is easy, but killing her requires the prophet to break free of his "in the air" state, return from the underworld with his ancestors to the mortal world, and the world of the living is the chieftain's domain.

Before the woman died, Zisekdi paid a price by using a mysterious spell to separate the sexes, severely injuring the prophet before leaving.

He not only knew the prophet's exact location but also debunked the "in the air" theory. In the end, all that was needed was for the male to come and finish the job, making it extremely difficult for the prophet to turn the tide. He could only wait helplessly for his death.

As for the prophet himself, he had to kill Tshisekedi, otherwise the president would turn around and destroy all his plans in Mbanbuka, and the destruction of the Four Living Gods would be inevitable once the army arrived.

This is a completely open and aboveboard scheme.

Lin An could tell that the prophet was no exception.

The only thing Zisekdi hadn't considered was Lin An's existence.

The prophet ended his life in a massacre instigated by a countess, and Lin An speculated that one of the requirements of the rebirth ritual was for the prophet to die at the hands of a high-ranking mystic.

In other words, his act of killing the prophet restored it to "airborne," and might even result in a certain increase in radiation levels.

In the face of conflict, it maintained the neutrality of the "God of Truth".

The prophet, returning to the underworld, needed another living being to reside in, so it summoned the member of the Four Living Gods that Mezo had seen beforehand, waiting for Lin An to make his move. After instructing Mezo, Lin An rushed out of the water and performed the Ritual of Nineveh Ishtar on the prophet.

The crack snaked upwards from the python's belly, and the cold hands of the people judging the king tore open the wound, creating a deep, bone-revealing fissure that tore apart the soul, making the already damaged soul even more precarious, almost torn to pieces.

Stones rained down on the prophet's head, which it tightly wrapped around with its tail, its three-meter-long body twisted into a pretzel, enduring the excruciating pain of its soul being torn to pieces.

"Forest ranger, thank you for granting me a glorious death."

Those reptilian, needle-like eyes blinked, revealing a relieved look, and the prophet spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"The Bantu people will not forget your contributions, even though you completed your mission under my guidance."

"farewell."

"Ok?"

An ominous sense of crisis welled up inside, and the ensuing intense pain confirmed the python's premonition.

"Wait—my memories!?"

It could never have guessed that Lin An's system possessed a unique ability on the planet: any mysterious person who had been killed and resurrected would lose all of their original memories.

Even something that controls the underworld and whose soul is immortal cannot resist the loss of memories.

As existence itself vanished, the prophet could not contain his fear, and his enormous body collapsed to the ground with a thud, rolling and twisting, his roar hoarse.

“I cannot forget—these memories are the protection of my ancestors! The Four Living Gods—without them, I am nothing! I am just a walking corpse—I do not want to become an empty shell!”

It bit into flesh and blood, and the pain brought it back to some consciousness. The prophet stared intently at Lin An, flames rose from all directions, and a group of ghosts emerged from the boundless void.

"I'll kill you... even if it means we both die..."

“This is no accident,” Lin An said. “I did a lot of ‘work’ in Kinsasha, and the president will definitely blame everything on you… and then it’ll be assassination, the same old routine.”

"what?"

“When you are reborn after death, you will need a new ‘listener,’ and I will make it wear the mask of life and death, and completely lock in your existence through touch… Just wait.”

"You bastard!" the prophet roared.

"When the hunter draws his bow, beware of the 'forest ranger,' my friend."

"Boom!"

Some of the ghosts that rushed out were driving tanks, some were pushing mortars, and most were infantrymen with guns. The younger ones had red "Boy Scout badges" on their foreheads, while the older ones were all covered in old wounds. They charged forward menacingly.

Lin An had seen these ghosts in Zai's hallucinations more than once, but now they no longer passed by like moving movie characters; instead, they pointed their guns at him.

The soldiers' figures are clear, as if they have just stepped out of the timeline, and can still be seen in full in modern history books.

Lin An activated the Philosopher's Stone, causing the metal to transform and all the firearms to become silent duds.

Before the soldiers could launch a second attack, the memory shattered, and the modern military was like a television screen with a signal jammed, with only increasingly chaotic static "sizzling" sounds remaining.

Next came the warriors riding elephants, their bodies painted with the intricate patterns of chiefs and kings, wielding spears and arrogantly trampling the increasingly murky water.

"Boom-boom-boom-"

The world trembled, and the sky spun.

"System, use [Blessing of the Primal Avatar]!"

With a thought flashing through his mind, Lin An, blessed by the power of Asherah, tore off a piece of his clothing and tied a knot. The energy of the Philosopher's Stone transformed into a golden scimitar, which he raised and charged into the elephant cavalry formation.

The warriors at the front took out shields smeared with the blood of beasts. The elephants raised their trunks and roared wildly, but they could not stop the power that had transformed into the war and fertility goddess of Canaan. Their masters fell to the ground like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, their flesh and blood mangled.

Before the elephant cavalry could regroup, the prophet's memory vanished for the second time, fading and disappearing like a mural being wiped away in a whirlwind.

The flames were still burning when a group of ancient deities adorned in gold and silver emerged one after another. They played musical instruments, carried silver staffs carved with snake heads, and wore seashell belts around their waists, which clattered with crystal bracelets, producing melodious sounds.

Lin An threw away the golden scimitar, and the Philosopher's Stone retracted its energy, lightly transforming into a coat and draping it back over his shoulders.

With his knees bent, he clenched his right fist, and the phantom of the [throat-slitting weapon] solidified as he aimed and hurled it at the gods.

"Dangdang!"

The gods from all over the world displayed their supernatural powers, but they were powerless to stop the primordial goddess's weapon of slaughter. The sharp, dark gold weapon drew a graceful arc, and fragments of jewelry, along with splattered flesh and blood, fell to the ground, paused, and sank to the bottom of the water.

"Don't take away my memories! I don't want to become 'me' again! My true self was a blank slate from infancy... but the memories of my ancestors gave meaning to my life!"

The python raised its head, and a blood-curdling roar escaped its throat.

As the flames rose higher, Lin An looked up and saw two towering giants raising torches, casting thoughtful glances at him.

Lin An met their gaze with his jet-black eyes.

The surrounding light vanished completely, becoming extremely dim. The prophet's body stiffened, and he became delirious.

In that instant, it felt the call of the mortal world, the deep songs from the Hills of Dreams wandering everywhere, the bright moon hanging high, the silver light covering the ground, playing its nerves like a piano staff.

The prophet seized upon this beam of light, which was entirely without malice and gentle kindness, and followed her away without hesitation.

As death approaches, more and more memories vanish, like a child growing in reverse from old age to youth, becoming purer, more innocent, ignorant, and bewildered with each step.

At the same time, before the giant gazing at Lin An developed cracks resembling the patterns in an oil painting and turned into fragments of time, a faint, strange voice, resembling ancient Chinese or Russian, yet subtly different, rang out.

"Andromeda 0449, +4295°; Orion 044.3, +15.67°."

"A supernova celestial coordinate system?" Lin An was taken aback, surprised that he could understand their language. "Are you communicating with me across billions of light-years?"

The system notification sounded in my ear, and the giant's figure shattered simultaneously.

"The entry 'Spirit Dwelling Beyond the Rainbow I: Mmunma Mbatilanda' has been included. You have obtained the mediums 'God of Truth' x11, 'God of Agriculture' x6, 'Emperor of War' x5, 'Lord of the Earth' x3, 'Seeker of Knowledge' x1, and 'Mother of Desire' x1."

(End of this chapter)